Combined ruler and blotter.



PATENTED MAR. 3, 1903.

H. c. PROBSTF COMBINED RULER AND BLOTTER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 8, 1902.

NO MODEL.

A TTOHNE Y S HARRY CHARLES PROBST FFICE.

, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COMBINED RULER AND BLOTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 722,141, dated March 3, 1903.

Application filed May 8,1902. Serial No. 106,494. No model- T0 to whom it may concern:

Beit known that LEARRY CHARLEs-PROBST, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in a Combined Ruler and Blotter, of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to an improvementin combined rulers and blotters, and has for its object to provide a ruler which will be extremely flexible, thus enabling it to be used on either fiat or rounding surfaces, one which is combined with a removable blotter on its lower surface, and one which will not collect particles of dust and grime.

To these ends my invention consists of the particular construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a bottom plan view. Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the blotter-strip with its backing. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line a: a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the under surface of a modified form of the ruler member. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a portion of the ruler member.

A represents the ruler proper, and it consists of a strip of thin and extremely-flexible sheet-steel, the surfaces of which are highly polished and its longitudinal edges being perfectly true to insure a straight edge for ruling. At suitable intervals adjacent to both longitudinal edges of the sheet-steel rule the under surface of said rule is provided with the guides or clips to, which are formed by being struck out at a suitable angle from the lower face by suitable punches and dies. These guides or clips a form a guideway to receive and retain a strip of compressed paper-board B or other suitable material, to the under surface of which is secured a blotter C, for which it forms a backing. The said strip B is of substantially the same length as the rule A and is of such a width as to be readily guided between the guides or clips at and yet be snugly retained thereby when in its proper position.

The blotter O, which consists of a strip of the same length as the backing B, is secured thereto by a row of stitching S through the blotter and backing along their longitudinal center. The blotterlies perfectly flat against the lower surface of the backing B and may be of slightly less Width than said backingin order that it will not interfere with the ready insertion of the said backing between the guides or clips at, projecting from the lower face of the rule A.

A handle D, of brass or other suitable material, is secured to the upper surface of the rule at its center by means of a rivet d,which passes through a suitable opening drilled or punched through the sheet-steel rule A.

The backing B being made of compressed paper or other suitable material which is stiff and at the same time flexible-will conform to whatever curvature the sheet-steel rule A may assumesuch, for instance,where the rule is used on a thick book and the open pages assume a rounding surface.

The blotter O by being attached to the backing is readily attached and detached from the lower face of the ruler, so that fresh or unsoiled blotters can be quickly put in place. By securing the blotter to the backing by a row of stitching S along its longitudinal center the side edges will be free and will not offer any obstruction to the ready insertion or withdrawal of the backing between the guides or clips a.

The ruler will be applied to the surface to be ruled or blotted by the handle. Thus it will be seen that the fingers need not come in contact with either the ruler or the writing-surface.

The ruler A being of sheet-steel and having highly-polished surfaces will not collect and retain dustand grime, as is the case with the hard-rubber rule in common use. It is also much more flexible than the ordinary rule above mentioned.

\Vhen the blotter portion becomes soiled,

it can be readily and quickly detached from that I may make the guides continuous from substantially end to end of the ruler, as shown in Fig. 5.

The backing forms a support for the blotter and constitutes a slide for securing it to the lower surface of the ruler with great facility.

It will be seen that I provide a simple and convenient device which combines the offices of a ruler and a blotter, one that is extremely flexible and which does not collect dust and grime.

The blotting-stri p and its attached backing-strip while being quite thin in cross-section yet cause the ruler to offset a slight distance above the writing-surface, so-that the projecting edges do not come in contact therewith, thereby doing away with the liability of the ink running along the edge of the ruler and causing a smear or blot upon the writingsurface, such as commonly happens where the ruler lies flat against the surface.

The guides a being struck out from the flexible sheet-steel ruler A will also be flexible, and thereby accommodate varying thicknesses of backing-strips.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is'

l. A combined ruler and blotter consisting of a ruler provided with guides, and a blotter held by said guides, the guides being set in from the edges of the ruler, said edges being of a single thickness and unturned.

2. A combined ruler and blotter consisting of a ruler provided with integral guides projecting from its under face adjacent to its.longitudinal edges, a blotter, and a backing secured to said blotter, and adapted to be inserted between said guides and held thereby.

A combined ruler and blotter comprisinga ruler of flexible material provided with guides struck out from its under face adjacent to its longitudinal edges, a strip of stiff material inserted and held between said guides, and a blotter secured to the lower face of said stiff strip. 1

4. A combined ruler and blotter comprising a flexible ruler having angular guides struck out from its under face adjacent to its longitudinal edges, a stiE flexible strip insorted and held between said guides, and a blotter-strip secured to said stiff strip at its longitudinal center.

5. A combined ruler and blotter comprising a flexible ruler provided with angular guides struck out from its lower face adjacent to its longitudinal edges and a blotter member consisting of a blotter-strip and a backing secured together attheir longitudinal centers by a row of stitching, said backing-strip being adapted to be inserted and heldbetween the guides of the flexible ruler.

6. A combined ruler and blotter comprising a flexible ruler provided with flexible guides projecting from its under face adjacent to its longitudinal edges, and a blotterstrip secured to a flexible backing-strip said backing-strip being adapted to be inserted between said flexible guides and be held thereby.

'7. A combined ruler and blotter comprising a flexible metal ruler having a handle attached to its upper surface, and provided with flexible clips projecting from its under surface, and a blotter held by said clips, the said clips being set in from the edges of the ruler, said edges being of a single thickness and unturned.

8. A combined ruler and blotter comprising a flexible ruler provided on its under face with flexible guide-clips adjacent to its longitudinal edges and projecting therefrom toward each other, and a blotter member consisting ofv a blotter-strip secured to a backing-strip, said backing-strip being adapted to be inserted between and held by the said flexible guide-clips.

9. A combined ruler and blotter comprising a flexible ruler provided with projecting guides on its under face adjacent to its longitudinal edges, and a blotter member consisting of a blotter-strip and a stiff backing therefor secured together at their longitudinal center by a row of stitching, said backing being adapted to beinserted between the said guides.

HARRY CHARLES PROBST.

Witnesses:

C. W. JEANNERET, JOHN N. GRIMM. 

